Mock Draft Bonus: 3rd round

We hadn’t extended a mock draft to round three yet this year, so we decided to push one more round through before the combine. This is an addendum to the draft posted on Thursday. 32 more picks coming right up…

  1. Houston Texans – Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State.
    tweedybirdd: JJ Watt needs some help, especially with the potential departure of Antonio Smith. Sutton is a first round talent based on his 2012 tape. He put on some weight this past season, and lost a significant amount of quickness. If he can return to his 2012 form, he’ll be a steal here.
  2. Washington Potatoes – Adrian Hubbard, DE/OLB, Alabama.
    vixticator: “Defense” is a need in Washington. Hubbard has long arms that shed blocks with ease and high level athleticism that should translate well in the pros. Flexible as either a down lineman or strong side backer.
  3. Oakland Raiders – Marcus Roberson, CB, Florida.
    Nath: They need help everywhere, and my temptation to take Jimmy Garoppolo was outweighed by the terrible situation he’d be thrust into here. Another piece for the long-term puzzle.
  4. Atlanta Falcons – Jonathan Brown, LB, Illinois.
    Trey: Atlanta’s defense could stand an upgrade. Brown will bring that to them. Though undersized, he is aggressive against the run, putting great short area quickness on display. He could also provide a pass rush threat, as he looks pretty great coming in on blitzes.
  5. New York Jets – Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, Eastern Illinois.
    tweedybirdd: The Jets GM chose not to name Geno Smith their franchise QB. Garoppolo should be able to at the very least push him in camp. He has an extremely quick, compact release. I believe he can make all of the throws. His deep ball accuracy and pocket presence are question marks.
  6. Jacksonville Jaguars – Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State
    vixticator: Best “every down” back in the draft, not this Carey fella. Hyde is the complete package with power and speed similar last year to Le’Veon Bell in terms of size and skill set.
  7. Cleveland Browns – Bishop Sankey, RB, Washington
    Nath: They had a glaring hole at the position after (and before, ha ha) trading Trent Richardson. Sankey is a dynamic runner who has shown enough pass-blocking and receiving ability to have a shot at being a three-down back in the NFL.
  8. Minnesota Vikings – Davante Adams, WR, Fresno State
    Trey: Defense of some sort could be a pick here, but none of the players available are as good as Adams. Since Patterson seems like a primarily screen/reverse receiver right now, the Vikings could stand to add another downfield threat to improve their offense. Adams can provide that with his size & speed combination, along with his ability to make difficult “small window” catches.
  9. Buffalo Bills – Brandon Thomas, OG, Clemson
    tweedy: Buffalo struggled to replace Andy Levitre last season. Thomas should have no problem winning the starting job from 2013 flops, Doug Legursky and Colin Brown. Thomas was a left tackle at Clemson, but doesn’t appear to have the size to handle it in the NFL. Thomas stands up nicely to the bull rush and is excellent run blocker. He should transition nicely to guard.
  10. New York Giants – Travis Swanson, C, Arkansas
    vix: Offensive line is a mess for the Giants. Swanson started every game of his career at Arkansas. Against LSU he manages to get some push against big tackles in Ferguson and Johnson and agile enough to pull around the corner.
  11. St. Louis Rams – E.J. Gaines, CB, Missouri
    Nath: Need position, and good value as probably the top corner remaining on the board.
  12. Detroit Lions – C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa
    vix: For the SMASHMOUTH era Caldwell Lions to work it’ll help to have a strong blocker at tight end and presumably someone who doesn’t drop every pass thrown to him. Joseph Fauria is coming off a good season in the red zone but it’s unclear if he can play every down. Fiedorowicz fits well.
  13. San Francisco 49ers – A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
    tweedy: Colt McCoy won the backup QB job by default last year. McCarron is decent value here and gives the Niners insurance for Kaepernick, who is in a contract year. He could potentially give them leverage in negotations. McCarron plays very safe; rarely taking shots downfield. He also struggled under pressure against Oklahoma. But he can make all of the throws and has great accuracy at short and medium levels.
  14. Dallas Cowboys – Lamin Barrow, LB, LSU
    Trey: Dallas’s pass defense was awful last year, and it wasn’t just the fault of the corners or D-line. Bruce Carter looked lost in coverage at times, and him & Lee are injury prone. Finding depth or a possible starter in Barrow is a great get, as Barrow is very solid in coverage against RBs and in zone.
  15. Baltimore Ravens – Jared Abbrederis, WR, Wisconsin
    Nath: You think they don’t need to double up at WR? I think you haven’t looked at their depth chart beyond Torrey Smith. Abbrederis is a tough receiver who can replace some of what the team lost by trading Anquan Boldin.
  16. New York Jets – Ahmad Dixon, SS, Baylor
    Trey: The Jets find a young capable safety to cap off their defense. Dixon is an aggressive player vs. the run and a solid player in coverage. They tried the decrepit Ed Reed to little avail last year, so now they find their answer in the draft.
  17. Miami Dolphins – Joel Bitonio, OT, Nevada
    tweedy: The Dolphins may have a hole at every single spot along the OL next season. Bitonio needs to add some strength, but he’s quick off the ball and can get out and move. It looks like he has a chance to play left tackle in the NFL.
  18. Chicago Bears – Chris Smith, DE, Arkansas
    vix: Poor on tape but had a quality Senior Bowl – especially the game itself. He has the tools to become a useful defensive end but there’s a lot of work he needs to do to be reliable.
  19. Cleveland Browns – Cyril Richardson, OG, Baylor
    Nath: He had a terrible Senior Bowl week, but it’s the third round and Cleveland’s guards are terrible, so they’d better hope that was an aberration and not an indicator of his NFL ability.
  20. Arizona Cardinals – Marcus Smith, DE/OLB, Louisville
    Trey: Arizona gets help at OLB. Smith is an all around good player with solid pass rushing prowess. He can come right in and fit at his college position, which was basically 3-4 OLB.
  21. Green Bay Packers – Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois
    tweedy: The Packers desperately need to add another safety to the mix. Morgan Burnett was a disappointment last year, and they trotted out 4 different players at strong safety. Ward doesn’t have ideal height, but he should compete for the starting job immediately.
  22. Philadelphia Eagles – Mike Davis, WR, Texas
    vix: Personally I love Mike Davis’ game. He is deadly in the middle and down the field, if not a player you throw many “smoke” screens at, but that’s what DJax is for, right?
  23. Kansas City Chiefs – Cameron Fleming, OT, Stanford
    Nath: They’re going to let Branden Albert walk and move Eric Fisher to the left side. Fleming should be a more than capable right tackle.
  24. Cincinnati Bengals – Christian Jones, LB, Florida State
    Trey: Cincy builds the LB corps around Burfict with Jones. Jones is somewhat of an enigma, having played each LB position for a year in college (and even played edge rusher in 2013). He can bring to the Bengals a wealth of experience and an additional pass rush threat.
  25. San Diego Chargers – Martavis Bryant, WR, Clemson
    tweedy: San Diego needs some help at WR behind Keenan Allen. Bryant screams upside. He reminds me a lot of Justin Hunter: tall and lean with excellent leaping ability. He can make the acrobatic catch, but like Hunter, he is wildly inconsistent. He’s a classic boom/bust candidate.
  26. Indianapolis Colts – Devin Street, WR, Pittsburgh
    vix: Tall and speedy receiver who gets off the line very well and can stretch the field. Didn’t put up gaudy stats but he is by no means raw, looks NFL ready. Andrew Luck is slightly better than the players who were throwing to him in college.
  27. New Orleans Saints – Billy Turner, OT, North Dakota State
    Nath: Another year, another small-school offensive tackle taken in the third round. That’s two in a row now, and the Saints have quite a good track record at turning these guys into players. Turner’s tape against Kansas State is very impressive.
  28. Carolina Panthers – Donte Moncrief, WR, Ole Miss
    Trey: The Panthers’ receiving corps needs an upgrade. There may be a better player available for the Panthers at WR, but none of them possess the size that Moncrief does.
  29. New England Patriots – Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
    tweedy: The Pats are thin behind Ninkovich and Jones at defensive end. Jeffcoat should give them more flexibility on the edge. He boasts long arms and can bend around the edge. Jeffcoat has a decent get off, but tends to react late to the snap. If he can correct this, the Pats will have a nice edge rushing rotation.
  30. San Francisco 49ers – Bruce Ellington, WR, South Carolina
    vix: Ellington does not LOOK like a wide receiver in that his frame is built more like a running back, but all he does is make plays. It doesn’t matter where: screen passes, middle of field, deep, after the catch, ends-around, he can even throw! The 49ers are in dire need of this type of player.
  31. Denver Broncos – Keith McGill, CB, Utah
    Nath: Cornerback is a big need, and the Super Bowl massacre ought to put it in their minds to find cornerbacks who are big and physical like Seattle’s.
  32. Minnesota Vikings – Yawin Smallwood, LB, Connecticut
    vix: Lots of defense needed for the Vikings, Smallwood is a stout junior linebacker out of UConn. He lacks dynamite speed but makes up for it with awareness. Likely a middle linebacker.

One thing this third round taught me is that we have a long way to go. Knowing about a certain player doesn’t mean having a solid observation and opinion of him. There’s still plenty of tape to grind to familiarize ourselves with some of these players, and of course the combine will give us some information by which we can consider a prospect’s athleticism.

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